August 25, 2011
Here’s a way to control weeds that’s ecofriendly and economical.
When it comes to weed control, there are people who swear by landscape plastic or fabric. And then there are those who swear at it. I am one of the latter.
In the garden of my new house, both plastic and fabric were used to cover weeds, and then topped with gravel and soil. Tough, deep-rooted salal, blackberry and salmonberry plants found their way through or around the edges of the material, which, instead of suppressing them, made it impossible to get at the roots to pull them out. Plastic also prevents water and air from getting through to deep tree roots. Get the whole story »
July 11, 2011
Don’t even think about recycling: used AA and AAA disposable batteries can now be given new life.
If you’re like me, you probably have a bunch of dead AA and AAA batteries rattling around in a drawer—possibly scattered among several drawers. You can’t throw them in the trash or even in the blue box. And even though since July 1 all household batteries (alkaline and rechargeable) can be recycled at almost 1,500 collection locations across B.C., you still have to take them there. Get the whole story »
July 6, 2011
The eco-conscious Scandinave Spa at Whistler focuses on traditional treatments instead of gimmicks—and it costs less, too.
BACK TO BASICS | Say goodbye to spa therapies that only go skin deep. Thermo- therapy and hydrotherapy, practised throughout Europe, are showing up across the country. These therapies use extreme heat and profuse sweating to flush out deeply lodged toxins, relax muscles and improve heart health. Get the whole story »
May 10, 2011
A gorgeous, indestructible, low-maintenance, high-performance, cost-effective garden: Is that too much to ask?
MONEY WELL SPENT | There are people who derive tremendous satisfaction from garden chores, but I’m not one of them. I love garden design and history, and enjoyed researching and planning our own garden with my husband, who is a garden designer. I loved choosing the plants and installing them, and I don’t mind occasional watering or weeding. But after that, I want to spend my time doing other things. I need my garden to be bulletproof: a gorgeous, indestructible, low-maintenance, high-performance environment—and of course I expect my investment in plants to be cost-effective. Get the whole story »
May 8, 2011
This little contraption is a time-honoured tool for the relief of allergy symptoms.
CHEAP + GOOD | It’s great when you can find a simple and inexpensive item that actually does what it claims it can do. I’m talking about the Neti pot, that little contraption that looks like a mini Aladdin’s lamp, only instead of rubbing it, you use it to engage in a strange water dance with your nostrils.
The practice of nasal irrigation, which is what the Neti pot is used for, is old as Shiva and pursued by yoga practitioners in India to clear their nasal passages for enhanced breath control, controlled breathing being central to yoga. Get the whole story »
December 31, 2010
Reducing our consumption of paper products just makes sense.
MONEY WELL SPENT | Cloth napkins, dear readers: we should be using them, and not just because doing so saves trees, which it does, or because employing them will ultimately save us money, which it will (this is the obvious Frugalbits angle), but also because we deserve nice things, and cloth napkins are nice all around: better next to the skin than paper ones, generally larger and more absorbent. Get the whole story »
November 29, 2010
Using half as much of a lot of products is often more than enough.
WASTE NOT | It all started with my first highlights. My stylist swung me around to the mirror for the reveal, and I basked in the glow of my glorious, glittering bangs, confident I would gleam forever in a radiant halo. Then he pulled me back to earth with a thump: “You’re going to have to stop washing your hair so much.” My wise stylist explained that daily washing strips the hair of colour and leaves it dull and dry.
I’d spent big bucks on my hair and was determined to protect my investment, so I cut down on the number of times I washed, and I revisited everything I thought I knew about shampoo. Instead of Shampoo, Rinse, Repeat, it became Shampoo, Rinse for me, all the way. Then one day it occurred to me—not only was my hair looking just as good or better, my shampoo budget had been cut in half. Get the whole story »
October 21, 2010
Here’s how to clear clogged drains without commercial drain cleaners. It’s simple science, really.
CREATIVE SOLUTION | Try as I might, I can’t seem to keep hair out of the bathroom drain, where it diabolically wraps itself around greasy soap residue to form stubborn, icky clogs. Since I dislike using harsh (and expensive) drain cleaners, I tackle drains first with a simple kettle full of boiling water,* hoping to dissolve the hairy sludge. But when hot water doesn’t dislodge the muck, I revisit my seventh grade science project—The Erupting Volcano. Get the whole story »
October 15, 2010
Top casting directors Heike Brandstatter and Coreen Mayrs explore Vancouver (and Bowen Island) on the green side.
Emmy Award-winning casting directors Coreen Mayrs and Heike Brandstatter spend most of their days casting feature film and television shows, having worked on such past projects as Juno, Battlestar Galactica, Capote and Diary of A Wimpy Kid. Their current projects include This Means War (starring Reese Witherspoon), Hellcats, Smallville and the soon-to-be-released Tron: Legacy. In their spare time they can be found exploring sustainable design, green building and cooking with organic ingredients.
Heike and Coreen’s 5 free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Vancouver (or beyond) Get the whole story »
October 12, 2010
Save your clothes, cash and the environment with an indoor or outdoor clothesline.
What is it with us? We can’t wait to air our dirty laundry in public but scorn hanging clean laundry outdoors to dry. Years ago I lived in the heart of Montreal’s Latin Quarter yet had a clothesline running from my back balcony to a post on the lane—and so did everyone else. Here in Vancouver, I can’t remember the last time I saw laundry flapping in the wind. A 2007 StatsCan Environment Survey shows the percentage of B.C. residents drying clothes on a line or rack at just 54 percent; in P.E.I. it was 75 percent.
A common objection is that clotheslines are eyesores, but sophisticated Europeans and Australians are way ahead of us in clothesline use, according to Jeanne Mikita, who founded Vancouver’s Sundog Clotheslines last year. ”They are using all sorts of innovative clothesline designs, and we are hooked on gas and electric dryers,” she says in an article on BC Hydro’s website. The clothes dryer is the home appliance second only to the refrigerator in energy consumption according to BC Hydro, which recommends air-drying on a line or rack. Get the whole story »
When it comes to weed control, there are people who swear by landscape plastic or fabric. And then there are those who swear at it. I am one of the latter.
